Pros

Cons

Numerous in-app purchases.

Generic conversation starter questions.

Predictions of Nintendo's doom are almost as old as the century-old company itself. But now, shareholders, rejoice! After years of resistance, gaming goliath Nintendo has finally released a smartphone app. But Miitomo, the first of the company's five planned iPhone apps, isn't the mobile Mario or Zelda adventure you may have been pining for. Instead, Miitomo is a free communication app centered on the iconic Mii avatars. Game or no game, however, Miitomo provides that trademark Nintendo charm on a brand new platform. It shouldn't surprise you that the debut smartphone from one of the best gamemakers in the world is an Editors' Choice.

It MiiThe first thing you do when you launch Miitomo is create your Mii, a stylized recreation of yourself. The facial customization options are the same ones we've been using since Miis first debuted on the Wii a decade ago. You can also take a photo of yourself and have the app create a Mii for you. The simple, but cute, designs of Miis really pop on the iPhone 5s ( at Amazon) that I used for testing (the app is available on Android, as well). Visually, they're pretty much on par with their Wii U ($299.98 at Amazon) counterparts. But people are more than just pretty faces. You can define your personality along with the pitch and speed of your Mii's voice. Finally, you answer a few questions about yourself, questions that form the crux of the app's communication system.

Miitomo populates your friends list by searching for fellow users among your Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can also link the app to a My Nintendo account (Nintendo's new cross-platform account system) or add a friend in person. Turn on location tracking to see Miitomo users in your area. Build up a big enough friends list and the app starts suggesting mutual friends to add. Once added, friends drift in and out of your virtual apartment and strike up conversations. Or you can visit them. This is where the questions you answered come into play.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (for Nintendo 3DS)

Kim Kardashian Hollywood (for Android)

After exchanging customized pleasantries, Miis may start talking about their favorite foods (Dinnah!) or celebrity crushes (Ian McDiarmid!). Answers can even be a little risqué. It reminds me of the 3DS' ($170.92 at Amazon) StreetPass functionality, which lets nearby 3DS owners exchange messages and gifts. The initial questions seem a little generic, but hopefully they become more exciting over time. They can also serve a jumping off points to more involved conversations. And shocking audiences nowhere, the casual, offbeat social vibe of Nintendo games such as Animal Crossing ($19.99 at GameStop) and Tomodachi Life is a perfect fit for an actual social tool. I just wish I could personalize my Mii's apartment.

Look at Mii NowChatting it up with friends is the main point of Miitomo, but the silly systems surrounding it are almost more fun. There are countless ways to dress up your Mii. I tried on sharp blazers with knee-highs socks, VR helmets, and nothing but underwear (a disturbingly accurate recreation of life in my actual apartment). Jewelry, cat ears, and other cute accessories help you up your style game. I mean that literally, since the more outfits you try on the more you level up, which grants you more rewards. Between this and Splatoon , Nintendo's fashion sense has been especially fierce lately.

Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, outfits don't come free. You earn coins by using the app, checking in for daily gifts, and completing My Nintendo missions such as meeting a new friend or answering enough questions. But if you want to buy the most expensive outfits, you'll need to pay real money for coins. One dollar pays out 1,000 coins, which isn't a terrible deal, considering that the full-priced Mortal Kombat X charges that price for a handful of single-use Easy Fatalities, for example. In the Miitomo shop prices range from 300 coins for simple shoes to over 3,000 coins for an astronaut outfit. Other currencies include game tickets, which let you play a Pachinko-esque minigame called Miitomo Drop to earn prizes, and candy, which reveals unseen answers from friends.

What good are outfits if you can't show them off? My favorite Miitomo feature is Miifoto. Here you can create a wide variety of wonderfully wacky pictures with your Mii. You can alter its expression and pose, as well as dumping in other bizarre elements. I made a photo of myself against a cosmic background, eyes closed, arms outstretched, awaiting paradise. Other creative tools include a robust emoji library and the ability to add word bubbles with text. You can also upload photos from your device for custom backgrounds. Once your Miifoto is finished, you can share it through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SMS, and Line. Share QR codes for your Mii as well, although that's not the same as sending a friend request.

Mii, Myself, and MiitomoIf you've been paying attention to Nintendo recently, you've noticed that it has already been taking some cues from the mobile market in its free-to-play experiments on the 3DS. But while Miitomo's influences are obvious, it feels far more unique than something like Pokemon Shuffle Mobile (Free at Apple.com) , a competent Candy Crush clone with Pokemon in it. And the fact that this social app is still fun to engage with completely by yourself speaks to the strength of its charming, welcoming atmosphere and mechanics. There are already plenty of ways to communicate using your iPhone, but the irresistible Nintendo personality of Miitomo helps it stand out from the rest. Miitomo earns an Editors' Choice for social networking and gaming on the iPhone.

About Jordan Minor

Software Analyst Jordan Minor really just wants to use his fancy Northwestern University journalism degree to write about video games. He was previously the senior editor for Geek.com and a PCMag intern before that. He’s also written for Kotaku, The A.V. Club, and Cards Against Humanity. He’s the reason everything you think you know about Street Sharks is a lie.

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